Member-only story
How to Put the “UX” in Flux
Using Design to Mitigate the Risk That Comes With Change
Now is a great time to be a UX designer.
Don’t believe me?
I’ll wait as you Google “ux design jobs.”
…
OK, now that we’re on the same page, it’s obvious companies are (finally) wising up to the idea that UX design has actual value (apart from creating badass PowerPoint decks…joking…mostly).
Whether or not decision makers at these companies can tell you the value, it’s there, and it’s only becoming more and more tangible.
As the rate of change ramps up into the future (thanks to the internet and Moore’s Law), companies will face more and more uncertainty.
In order to navigate this uncertainty, they will be forced to embrace change.
Who is in the best position to usher these companies through change?
You guessed it (by reading the title of this story)…UX designers.
Our job is to help mitigate the risk that comes with creating products, services, and experiences for humans.
Why exactly is it our job?
Simple — we’re uniquely positioned because as UX designers, we play at the center of desirability (design), viability (business), and feasibility (technology).
As we navigate these three overlapping circles, we also act as an advocate for the end user’s perspective (you know, the one who is ultimately paying the company in the first place).
As crazy as it sounds, the more successful a company becomes, the more difficulty they have keeping a pulse on their customers and end users. The more they scale, the more murky this line of communication becomes.
Thanks to this murkiness, companies at scale make all kinds of uninformed decisions, many of which conflict directly with the wants, needs, and desires of their customers.
How do you make more informed decisions?
With information.
